Grotte aux Fées

The Grotte aux Fées in the cliffs above Saint-Maurice, Switzerland is a natural limestone solution show cave, featuring a 77-metre high underground waterfall, claimed as the world's highest waterfall in a show cave. The cave was the first show cave in Switzerland. The cave was known until the mid 19th century as the Trou aux Fayes or "Sheep Hole," as it was used as a sheepfold. The cave was known from Roman times, but was first publicized in 1863 as a tourist attraction, with the present name being used from 1865.
The cave was explored in 1831 when a party mapped 600 metres of passages. From 1863 Professor Chanoine Gard of the Abbey College of Saint-Maurice cleared passageways and conducted tours on behalf of an orphanage that he had founded. From 1865 the cave was operated by the Sisters of Saint-Maurice, who coined the present name. In 1925 additional exploration extended the cave network from the top of the waterfall. The network includes the 504 metres tourist gallery, the 1,200-metre Galerie des Morts and the 2,184-metre Fairies' Cave section, with an elevation difference of 122 metres . A 2010 exploration linked the Grotte aux Fées to the nearby Grotte de Saint-Martin No.1, totaling 3,630 metres in length and 249 metres in elevation.

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| | Pubblica | Francese • Spagnolo • Tedesco